Browsing by Author "French, M.H."

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The Apparent Digestibility of Crude Protein by the Ruminant
(1957) French, M.H.; East African Agriculture and Forestry Research Organization
The digestibility of the crude-protein equivalent (N >< 6•25) of rations containing urea conforms with the general equation, y = 70 log x - 15, correlating the dry-matter crude-protein content (x) with its coefficient of digestibility (y), irrespective of whether the urea nitrogen is absorbed as ammonium salts or converted to microbial protein prior to digestion.
The Apparent Digestibility of Crude Protein By The Ruminant
(1957) Glover, J.; French, M.H.; Duthie, D.W.; East African Agricultural and Forestry research Organization
The general equation, y = 70 log x - 15, connecting the digestibility coefficient, to x, the percentage of crude protein in the dry matter of the feed of ruminants, which was proposed in an earlier paper, has been shown to fit all the directly determined world data for cattle, sheep and goats which have been published by Schneider (1947). It is applicable to rations composed of both single and mixed feeds for it is the total percentage of crude protein in the ration which determines its digestibility.
Carcass Development of Live Stock in Tanganyika Territory (A Review of Five Papers by Dr M. H. French)
(September, 1939) French, M.H.; Lowe, H.J.; Veterinary Services and Animal Husbandry, Mpwapwa, Tanganyika Territory
Papers I, IV and V deal with cattle and may be taken together. In comparison with English cattle the Tanganyika zebu comes out of this examination rather badly. Dr. French states that "The average zebu ox is less than half the weight of the average British steer. The internal and external deposits of fat are much greater in the European breeds; the fat of the zebu is most often yellowish in colour,the meat is often dark as a result of long walks in search of grazing, and altogether the carcass is unsuited for British markets. The author suggests that these Tanganyika zebu cattle are more fitted for a canning and extracting industry, or for conversion into fertilizers or animal feeding stuffs. They might also be useful for the preparation of biological medicaments.
Composition and Feeding Values of Green maize, Millet and Bulrush Millet Cut for Soiling Purposes
(1946) French, M.H.
In the long dry seasons of this Territory the 'problem of providing green succulent foods for feeding to high-producing animals, such as heavy milk-producing cows, is very important. Such green foods provide the very necessary carotene (a precursor of vitamin A) required to maintain body reserves at this time of the year when the natural herbage contains practically none. Carotene is converted by farm animals into vitamin A and the maintenance of an adequate reserve of this vitamin is necessary to ensure that high-producing animals remain in sufficiently good health to continue in production at a high rate. Shortage of this vitamin will lead to skin disorders, possible eye troubles, retard the normal growth rate and interfere with reproduction. In addition, the secretion of large volumes of milk, which contains vitamin A and carotene, causes a large drain on the liver reserves of this vitamin. Actually, when the liver reserves become low the quantity of carotene and vitamin A in the milk is curtailed and the nutritive values of the milk and butterfat are correspondingly reduced. Besides the provision of vitamin A, green foods exert a very beneficial effect on the tone of the digestive system, thereby promoting the better utilization of the dried roughages which form the bulk of the ration in the dry season.
Composition and Feeding Values of Green Maize, Millet, and Bulrush Millet Cut for Soiling Purposes
(1946) French, M.H.; Veterinary Laboratory, Tanganyika Territory
In the long dry seasons of this Territory the problem of providing green succulent foods for feeding to high-producing animals, such as heavy milk-producing cows, is very important. Such green foods provide the very necessary carotene (a precursor of vitamin A) required to maintain body reserves at this time of the year when the natural herbage contains practically none. Carotene is converted by farm animals into vitamin A and the maintenance of an adequate reserve of this vitamin is necessary to ensure that high-producing animals remain in sufficiently good health to continue in production at a high rate. Shortage of this vitamin will lead to skin disorders, possible eye troubles, retard the normal growth rate and interfere with reproduction. In addition, the secretion of large volumes of milk, which contains vitamin A and carotene, causes a large drain on the liver reserves of this vitamin. Actually, when the liver reserves become low the quantity of carotene and vitamin A in the milk is curtailed and the nutritive values of the milk and butterfat are correspondingly reduced. Besides the provision of vitamin A, green foods exert a very beneficial effect on the tone of the digestive system, thereby promoting the better utilization of the dried roughage which form the bulk of the ration in the dry season.
The compositions of different types of star grass
(1945) French, M.H.; Veterinary Laboratory, Mpwapwa
Grass is the natural food of all domecticated herbivora and is the only single food on which they can be maintained in health indefinitely.
The Deep-Litter System
(1954) French, M.H.; Ledger, H.P.; Joint Animal Industry Division of E.A.A.F.R.O. and E.A.V.R.O.
Some form of intensive management is necessary if maximum results are to be obtained from commercial egg-producing units, because intensification makes it easier both to maintain suitable conditions for the birds and to reduce labour hours by the full exploitation of labour-saving equipment. Admittedly, extensive range systems are a useful means of distributing manure and probably permit the maintenance of a healthier flock, but they are more exposed to thieves and vermin and are relatively more costly in the time required for egg collection, feeding and supervision. In all systems of poultry management, personal supervision is essential, and this is more easily achieved under intensive conditions. Even when the size of the unit does not justify the employment of a trained supervisor, it is better to keep lots of 50 to 500 birds on an intensive system and to design the lay-out so that future' expansion can be undertaken easily.
The Development of Feeding Standards For Cattle
(1954) French, M.H.
At the end of the 17th century autumn slaughtering was the traditional practice in Europe because farmers were then unable to feed many stock through the winter. Consequently, livestock quality remained poor and improvement was practically impossible until such time as the enclosures gave farmers the assurance that their fodder crops would be reserved for their own stock and not be consumed by their neighbours' communally grazed animals. Once systems were devised for growing fodder crops and conserving them for winter use, improvements in size, early maturity and productivity of cattle automatically became possible. During the 18th century, when cattle weights at Smithfield were doubled, the need arose for better systems of feeding and for more knowledge on economic methods of rationing. In particular, farmers wished to know the "replacement" values of feeding-stuffs so that, if one component of the diet became unavailable, it could be replaced by another without affecting the productivity of the ration.
Earth-eating and the mineral needs of livestock
(1955) French, M.H.
The feeding of "salts" to domesticated animals can be traced back to the time of Plutarch, and both Virgil and Pliny recommended salt for milk production. Although the value of salt has been known for centuries, it did not become common practice to feed it to domestic animals so long as they remained unimproved "starved, todbellied runts, neither fit for the dairy nor the yoke".
The Effect of Infrequent Water Intake on the Consumption and Digestibility of Hay by Zebu Cattle
(1955) French, M.H.
Zebu oxen were fed an ad lib. ration of chaffed hay during a series of studies to test the effects of restricted water intake on digestive efficiency. The watering regimes were (a) ad lib consumption whenever the animals wished; (b) water available for I hour every 48 hours; and (c) water available for I hour every 72 hours. These intervals were chosen to simulate conditions in the arid and semiarid regions of East Africa.
The Effects of Restricted Intakes on the Digestibility of Hays by East African Hair-Sheep and Zebu Oxen
(Kenya Agricultural Research Institution, 1956) French, M.H.; Kenya Agricultural Research Institution
In digestibility trials with local fat-tailed sheep and Zebu oxen, maintenance, submaintenance and supermaintenance rations of chaffed hay were compared. With the sheep there was no significant difference between digestibility coefficients when 75, 80 or 100 per cent. of maintenance was given. With oxen digestibility of crude fibre increased with each decrease in the hay intake. The differences in starch equivalent of the feed at the different levels was not significant, but there was a slight decrease when more than the maintenance ration was given. In 2 of 6 hays used the value for available digest ible crude protein was significantly increased when the ration was fed at below maintenance level. The results are discussed in relation to the importance of the effect of restricted watering on the dry matter intake of cattle in the locality considered. T. D. Bell.
Factors Affecting the Composition of Milk and the Quality of Butterfat
(1938) French, M.H. ; Veterinary Department, Tanganyika Territory.
Milk is the food elaborated by the mother for the nourishment of her young until such time as they are able to digest and assimilate the normal food of their species. Milk is an emulsion of fat globules in a colloidal solution of proteins, lactose and mineral matter. At birth, mammalian young differ considerably because the extent of intra-uterine development varies with each species. Since milk is nature's food designed to meet the requirements of these varyingly developed offspring, the composition of the mother's milk must differ between species. These variations can affect the levels of any or all of its constituents. The word" milk" is now almost synonymous with" cow's milk", because this species has been selected and bred by man for increasingly big milk yields in order that cow's milk could play a larger and larger role in human dietetics. The study of factors affecting milk and butterfat compositions has therefore been made very largely on cow's milk although these same changes would be paralleled in the differently composed milks of other species. The following remarks are restricted to cow's milk and deal only with the variations in the fat and non-fatty solids. THE INFLUENCE OF BREED There is a marked difference between the breeds of cows in the fat content of their milks, eg the difference between Jersey and Friesian milk is well known. When such breeds as the Zebu and the Friesian (with their widely differing fat contents) are inter-bred the amount of fat in the milk of the offspring varies directly with the amount of Zebu blood in these grade animals. Not only is there a difference in the fat content between breeds but the size of the fat globule varies from the large globules in Guernsey milk to the small ones in Ayrshire or Friesian milks. The larger the globule the easier it is to separate the cream and to make butter, whereas milks with small globules are better suited for cheese production. The colour of butterfat varies enormously between the different breeds, and milks with a higl! ly coloured fat, such as that from the Channel Island breeds, are often mixed with the milks from other breeds (Ayrshire and Friesian), which have pale coloured fats, to improve the attractiveness of the cream layer. Because the colour of butterfat is derived very largely from the carotene of the food, the colour varies directly with the amount of green foods in the diet., Since carotene is a precursor of vitamin A, high fat colour is popularly associated with high vitamin A activity of the milk. This is not necessarily correct because vitamin A itself is colourless, and one can have pale milk possessing a greater total vitamin A activity than highly coloured Jersey milk. Both the vitamin A and the carotene contents are dependent on the supply eaten in the food and are liable to marked seasonal fluctuations. However, for each of these substances there is a" ceiling" value for each breed, above which the level cannot be raised. The chemical characteristics of pure butterfat do not vary significantly between breeds (Zebu butterfat is not distinguishable by the ordinary analytical procedures from Ayrshire butterfat).
The Feeding Value of Sweet Potato Tubers
(1956) French, M.H.
Roots have long assumed an important place in the winter dietaries of stock in Europe, but their usefulness in East Africa is limited by the climatic zones in which they can be grown. Tubers, such as cassava, canna, and sweet potatoes, are more adaptable than roots to local environmental conditions, particularly at lower altitudes, and it is of importance to determine their usefulness for livestock. Studies have already been made of the composition, digestibility and feeding values of the two former varieties of tubers and this article completes the story by adding the data concerning fresh sweet potatoes. The material employed was purchased from African producers and had an average moisture content of 41 per cent. The dry matter composition is compared in Table I with the corresponding data for fresh canna and cassava tubers.
Growth Rates Of Hair On Grade European and Indigenous Breeds Of Cattle
(1946) French, M.H.; Veterinary Laboratory, Mpwapwa
During the past few years much has been written on the inability of pure and high bred European cattle thrive continuously under tropical condition and by tropical conditions is not meant merely those of residence in areas within within tropical climates even on the equator itself. As a result of this work, it is now recognized that one of the main factors involved is the inability of European Animals to eliminate heat sufficiently rapidly to maintain normal body temperatures.
The Importance of Water in the Management of Cattle
(1956) French, M.H.; Joint Animal Industry Division of E.A.V.R.O. and E.A.A.F.R.O.
Owing to the constant concern with the metabolic needs of animals for protein, energy, minerals and vitamins, and the attempt to keep up to date with the voluminous and growing literature dealing with these problems, there IS an excuse for many workers, in the well watered temperate areas of the world, omitting to emphasize the fundamental importance of water in animal nutrition. On movement from these areas to the semi-arid regions, where long droughts alternate with seasonal and often short rainy periods, and where livestock experience serious difficulties in finding and consuming sufficient herbage to maintain growth, reproduction and normal sustenance the seasonal water shortages exert such dominating influences that attention is quickly and importantly focused on livestock requirements.
Maize Silage in East Africa: Its Preparation, Quality and Feeding Value
(1935/1936) Purvis, J.T.; French, M.H.
Maize has proved itself throughout the world as the crop best suited for silage production. Therefore, when this Department first decided to make silage,some twelve years ago, maize was naturally chosen as the crop to be ensiled.The method of ensilage adopted was to stack the maize into rectangular pits,ten feet square and twelve feet deep. It was assumed that the best results would be obtained if the methods used in other countries were adopted.
Mineral Deficiencies and Excesses in Pastures: A Review
(1946) French, M.H.; Mpwapwa, Tanganyika Territory
For those species of livestock whose natural food is pasture herbage, mineral deficiencies are of greater importance than vitamin deficiencies and, since pastures are the raw material on which successful animal husbandry is built and the trade in herbivorous animal products depends, everyone connected with the development of these industries should be familiar with the effects of various pasture deficiencies. It is only by knowing what diseases are produced and how to recognize them that financial losses are to be prevented when opening-up and developing areas such as East Africa.
Notes on the Hides and Skins Industry
(1946) French, M.H.; A.R.I.C., Veterinary Laboratory, Mpwapwa, Tanganyika Territory
There is much wastage of valuable raw material because many sheep and goat skins are not prepared for the market and many calf, kid, and lamb skins are not preserved. There is a further loss to the industry through failure to prepare and dry the small skins from still-born calves and those taken from females which died or were slaughtered in the late stages of pregnancy. The individual value of these skins will be little but in the aggregate they would bring in a larger sum than is commonly supposed. The evils of branding have been stressed but the high percentage of branded hides being marketed indicates that much remains to be done to eliminate this serious defect. Brands should never be large nor deep and should be placed on the least valuable portions of the hide. All surplus males should be castrated at an early age and thereby decrease the proportions of the lower-quality "bull" hides and skins. The keeping of female stock long after they have passed their peak of efficiency should be discouraged as hides and skins from such aged animals reduce the average quality standard and the reputation of East African origins. The slaughtering of prime stock before the dry season is too advanced would allow heavier and better hides and skins to be marketed as well as leaving more food for the remaining stock. The provision of dry-season reserves of food and water would help to reduce the annual loss to the industry caused by the thin, light hides and skins from starved animals.
Notes on the Hides and Skins Industry
(1946) French, M.H.; Veterinary Laboratory
Hides and skins should be removed from carcasses as quickly as possible after death. Knives should be used in this operation as little as possible and all skins should be removed by hand after the initial opening cuts have been made.
Notes on the Hides and Skins Industry Part II
(1946) French, M.H.; Veterinary Laboratory, Mpwapwa.
Since the monetary value of the hides and skins industry is determined by the quality of these raw materials, for leather-making purposes, in relation to the value of other sources of the world's supply, it is well to know from what defects East African hides and skins sutler and how these defects arise so that widespread efforts can be made to eradicate the causes and minimize the damage so far as possible. When it is realized that hides and skins are damaged whilst still parts of living animals as well as by the conditions to which they are exposed before, during and after removal from carcasses, it might be thought that the task of improvement is too big or too difficult. Fortunately, this is not true because most of the defects and damages could be avoided, and a general appreciation of this important point would do much towards achieving the quality improvement so necessary for the continued prosperity of the industry. It is also true that the greater proportion of the avoidable damage is done during the flaying, fleshing, cleaning, drying and storing of hides and skins, and at least £100,000 are lost annually to East Africa because of carelessness in or ignorance of the correct methods of preparation. Serious though this is, it points the way for effecting improvement in quality and obtaining the quickest financial return for energies expended, namely, education and instruction in the correct methods of preparation followed by a system of marketing which ensures that payment of producers shall always be proportionate to the quality of their products.

Kenya Agricultural &
Livestock Research Organization

Browsing by Author "French, M.H."

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